Hybrid rapid transit truck



Feb. 11, 1964 s. H. BINGHAM HYBRID RAPID TRANSIT TRUCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed June 30.. 41961 FIG. 1

IIHIll INVENTOR. SIDNEY H. BINGHAM BY Q LAL-25o@ @4% ATTORNEYS Feb. l1,1964 s. H. BINGHAM 3,120,820

HYBRID RAPID TRANSIT TRUCK Filed June 30, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 2O www Dl /24 (lo SIDNEY H. amel-IAM l BYCMQJ ATTO RNEYS Feb. 1l, 1964 s. H.BINGHAM HYBRID RAPID TRANSIT TRUCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 30, 1961FIG. 6

lNVENTOR smNEY H. BINGHAM BY CD ATTO EYS Feb. 11, 1964 s. H. BINGHAMHYBRID RAPID TRANSIT TRUCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 30, 1961INVENTOR. SIDNEY H. BINGHAM j QMLQGJ ATTORNEYS United States Patent OEglzd HYBRID RAND TRANST TRUCK Sidney H. Bingham, 109 lE. 35th St., NewYorlr, N.Y. Filed lune Sil, iwi, Ser. No. 120,998 7 Claims. (Ul.165-215) This invention relates to light Weight powered vehicle trucksof special application to special use in railway, freight and passengercars.

A broad object of the invention is to provide a light weight truck frameasse'nbly with four conventional flanged steel wheels and two additionalpowered rubber tired wheels running on parallel adjacent tracks to thoseon which the ilanged wheels run.

Another object of the invention is to provide a proportioned suspensionsystem for distributing the car loading between the flanged wheels andthe rubber tired wheels.

A further object of the invention is to provide a vehicle powered truckhaving ilanged steel wheels to provide guidance and resistance to sideshearing `iorces in order to take advantage oi" the established sate andreliable operation demonstrated by existing railroad practice incombination with powered rubber tired wheels to take advantage of highertractive and braking torce even though, for example, it is found thatone-halt the load is carried by the rubber tired wheels.

Still another advantage of this combination is the availability ofstandard or conventional switclung and grade crossing operation.

Still another advantage is to secure lateral stability because of thewider spacing between the rubber tired wheels in reference to theflanged steel wheels, and an advantage highly desirable in modern lightweight cars.

A further advantage is that the truck will negotiate the road curveswithout slip angle for the rubber tired wheels, thereby avoiding dragand wear thereon.

Still another advantage is the increased adherence coellicient of therubber tired wheels to their rails, the advantage of the crushing forcesfor snow and ice created by the steel Wheels, thereby to insure saferunning.

A further advantage of the combination as will appear later is thearrangement wherein the entire load is transferred to the related steelwheels in the event of a tire blow-out when the rubber tired wheels areof the pneumatic type, and in cases where the car is trailed overconventional railway track. i

Another advantage, as will appear later, is in the elimination of bevelor hypoid driving gears in the power transmission system.

Still other advantages are higher reliability and lower maintenance oithe power transmission system due to the absence oi angle gears, as wellas a saving in weight.

Other and more detailed advantages of the novel constructions hereindisclosed will become apparent from the following description of themodifications of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

ln those drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevational vievv of a railwaycar equipped with one form of novel truck assembly according to thisinvention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of one of the truckassemblies showing important parts in crosssection and some parts brokenawayin order to simplify the illustration;

FIGURE 3 is a righthand elevational view oi the structure illustrated inFIG. 2;

FlGURE 4 is a top plan view or the truck assembly of the precedingtigures;

FGURF 5 is a side elevational view from the right side of FlG. 6 of amodiiied truck assembly in accord Mice ance with this invention showingsome parts in crosssection;

FIGURE 6 is a leitharid elevational end view of this truck assembly;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of the same assembly;

FlGURE 8 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevational view of the vehiclehaving a further modified truck assembly in accordance with thisinvention;

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view of the truck assembly or FIG. 8 showing thevehicle body in dotted outline and some parts in crossasection; and

FGURE 10 is a similar view of a further modiiied form of drive for therubber tired wheels of the system of FlG. 9; and

FIGURE l1 is a diametral cross-sectional view through the differentialgear train housings or the system o FlG. l0.

Generally speaking a broad object of this invention is to obtain all theadvantages resulting from the addition to a langed steel wheel supportedtruck assembly for a vehicle, of powered rubber tired driving wheels,all including a proportioning spring suspension system whereby the loadon the truck assembly is proportionately distributed between the steelwheels as a unit and the rubber tired wheels as a unit. Importantadvantages of this arrangement reside in the fact that the guidance andresistance to side shearing forces provided by flanged steel wheels areretained in combination with the gain in tractive and braking power dueto the adherence coefficient oi rubber. For example, if one-half thenormal loading for the truck is transferred to the rubber tired wheels,improved tractive eiiort results from the tact that the adherencecoeilicient of rubber is at least four times higher than that of steel.Other and more detailed advantages of the invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art.

The form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. l to 4 inclusive will nowbe described in detail, As is clear from these iigures, the trackagesystem includes a pair of conventional steel rails SR and a pair ofwooden rails WR spaced from and extending parallel to the steel rails,as is clear from FlGS. 3 and 4. As illustrated, the car includes anysuitable form of body C supported towards each end by the truckassemblies of this invention which have been generally indicated at T inFIG. l.

The details of construction of the truck are set out in FIGS. 2, 3 and4. As best seen from FIG. 4, the truck frame comprises a pair of sideframe members l@ connected by a cross-trame member l2, which might betermed the bolster. ll these frame members are illustrated as consistingof a single casting, but as is apparent, they could be built up oi`suitable structural ineinbers. Journaled fore and aft on the frame arethe single piece axles 14 and t3, on which are mounted respectivelyconventional fianged steel wheels Sid and 2b. The axles are journaled inbearings secured to the suspension springs Z2 and 24, respectively, asshown. Each spring 122 is pivotaliy connected at one end, as at Z2' to abracket on the truck frame, and pivotally connected by means of a link22 at its other end to the truck trame. Similarly, each spring 2d ispivottu'ly connected at one end, as at 2d', to a bracket on the truckframe and pivotally connected at the other end by a link 24" to theframe.

A third axle Z6, positioned normally between the other two axles, isprovided with rubber tired wheels 28, which have been illustrated as ofthe pneumatic type. The axle 26 is journaled in bearings secured to thesprings 3d and 32. Both of these springs are secured to the truck framein the manner illustrated with respect to the spring 3d. Une end of thisspring is pivotally connected at 3 to a bracket on the truck frame andthe other end is pivotally connected by a link 3d" to the truck frame.

Each of the side frames of the truck, as for example the side frameillustrated in FIG. 2, is provided with a strut 34 extending downwardlyfrom each end` to form a seat directly under the adjacent end of theaxle 26, which is normally spaced therefrom for all normal loadings ofthe car when the wheel 28 is properly inilated.

Suitably mounted on the truck frame is a drive motor `36, which isconnected by a drive shaft 33 through universal joint connections 4) and42 at its end to a diiferential gear transmission d4. The housing forthis gear assembly is free of the shaft 26 and an extending arm, asshown in FIG. 2, is pivotally connected by means of a link 46 to thetruck. The terminal or nal driven gear is keyed to the shaft 26.

The objects and advantages of this invention as previously expressed arereadily apparent from this detaiied description of one of the truckassemblies T. It is noted, of course, that both the truck assemblies Tof FIG. are of the same construction. As noted, power from the tractionmotor 3@ is delivered to the main drive axle 26 to which the pneumatictired wheels 2S are attached. The spring suspensions 22 and 24 and 39and 32 are proportioned so that approximately one-half the total loadingfor each truck is carried by the pneumatic tired wheels. In the eventthat the tire is deflated the loading will be transferred to the springs22 and 2d straining them downwardly so that the truck will settle to thepoint where the axle 26 rests on the struts 34. The same conditionresults if the car is switched to a conventional steel rail system. Inpassing it is noted that the car body C is supported on each of thetrucks by means of a conventional turning bearing The modification ofthe invention disclosed in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 employs the same principleas does the previous modification but the combination is considerablydifferent in its structural details. This form of the invention providesa still lighter rapid transit truck than the former. As shown the truckconsists of a pair of side frame members 50 and l52 which arerespectively provided with stub shafts 55 and 56 on which the angedsteel wheels 54 and 53 are mounted respectively. These side framemembers are cross-connected by struts or structural members 60 and 62which are parts of a generally rectangular framework 68 and '70,respectively, of which one is shown in FIG. 6. The ends of the struts 60and 62 are connected by a ball joint connector 64 and 66, respectively,which engage the downwardly extending brackets on the side framemembers. The ends of the top members of the frameworks 6d and 76 arebifurcated, as clearly shown in FIG. 7, and are respectively connectedto the side frame members by the links 72 and 74. The links 72 and 74are attached to the side frame members by ball joint connectors '76 and7d, engaging upwardly extending brackets on the side frame members, asclearly shown in FIG. 6. The other ends of the links 72 and 74 areprovided with pins 30 and 82 which have sliding engagement with slots inthe bifurcated ends of the upper members of the rectangular frame. Thetopmost ends of the frames 63 and 7l) are pivotally connected by theball joint connectors SS and 98 by links 911 and ldd, to a dependingbracket 92 secured to the bottom of the car body C.

At the longitudinal centers of the side frame members 50 and 52 are stubshafts 102 and 106 on which the rubber tired wheels 104 and 108,respectively, are rotatably mounted. In the case illustrated there aresupported from the bottom of the car C, by means of the brackets 111 and113, respectively, a pair of drive motors 110 and 112. These motors arerespectively connected by a power transmission comprising parallelgears, not shown, enclosed within the housing 114. These gear trains foreach motor are independent and the output gear of each is connected tothe shafts of the rubber tired wheels 194 and 16S, respectively, bymeans of the shafts 116 and 118,

which shafts are provided at both ends with universal joint connectors11'7 and 119.

Mounted on the bottom of the car body, see FIG. 6, is a pair of sidemembers 12d and 122 for the coiling springs 124 and 126 respectively.These springs rest at their lower ends on fixtures 12S and 130 whichform part of turning bearings 132 and 134 on the tops of the side framemembers Si) and 52.

It is apparent that the truck structure is of a highly articulatednature with all of the parts interconnected by universal or ball jointconnections, so as to provide great flexibility with adequate strengthin what amounts to the truck frame. The guidance and relativepositioning ofthe parts is maintained by the engagement of the steelange wheels with the rails SR. As in the previous case, the power isapplied to the rubber tired driving wheels 164 and 16S which ride onspecial outboard tracks WR. One advantage of this arrangement is thesimple parallel gear transmissions centrally mounted. This arrangement,as in the previous case, avoids the use of angle gears such as bevel andhypoid gears.

As can best be `appreciated from FIG. 6, it is apparent that if rubbertired wheels are provided with pneumatic tires and one or more of thembecomes deated, the related side frame member can drop a limiteddistance by reason of the slip joints provided in `the bifurcated endsof the frame members in `which the pins 3d* and 82 slide. This in effectpermits the load Iwhich was being carried by the deated wheels to betransferred to the related steel wheels. This arrangement isparticularly important when the car -is trailed on a conventional track,in which case the outboard rails WR 'are not present. Under theseconditions the rubber tired wheels even if not deflated, are permittedto `drop a short distance determined by the length of the slots in thebifurcated ends of the frame members. Thus the car may be trailed on astandard track system without requiring any alteration or mechanicaladjustment of the truck structure. The fore and aft links 98 and 160give lateral stability to the truck and absorb the longitudinal forcesarising from tractive and braking efforts.

Further modifications of the invention are shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and l0.In the lirst the two pairs of tracks SR and WR yare used as before. Inthis case, however, the car body C is supported at its respective endsby simple rigid frame trucks 136 and 138 provided with two pairs offree-running flanged steel wheels, as shown. [These trucks are connectedwith the car body by the turning bearing members 140 and 142.

Under this arrangement two pairs of rubber tired wheels 14E and 150 aremounted a the longitudinal center of the truck by means of the springsuspension systems 149 and 151 respectively. The axles 144- and 146 forthe respec- `tive wheel pairs are connected through transmission gearswithin the housings 156 and 162 to the-drive motors 152 and i158 by theuniversal jointed drive shafts 154 and 160. The central assembly ofIrubber tired power wheels is directly connected to the car body with noprovision for turning or swinging as in the case of the end trucks. Inthis case, as before, the spring suspensions are adjusted so that aproportion, possibly as high `as one-half of the total load of the car,is supported by the rubber tired wheels. All of the advantages of theprevious systems are provided with this arrangement in conjunction |withthe use of very simple end trucks.

An assembly comprising a modification of that illustrated in FIGS. 8 and9` is shown in FIG. l0; in which case a pair of rubber tired drivingwheels 24S are provided at the center of the car. 'Ihey are attached tothe car body by a spring suspension, not shown, or either of those shownin FIG. 9L In this case the drive motors 152' and 152 are connected bysimple systems of speed reducing parallel gear trains mounted within thehousings 256 and 256". The output gears of these ltrains are connectedby universal jointed shafts 260 and 202 with planetary gear trains inthe housings 204 and 206. The housings 256 and 256" can be attached tothe underside of the yframe of the car body either directly or by thesuspension spring systems like those shown in FIG. 9.

;T here has been illustrated in detail in FIG. l1 the differential geartrain assembly 204 of FIG. 10. This is the usual differential geardrive, and as shown the universal jointed shaft 2li() extends into astub-shaft housing 208 'which is suspended from the car body by anysuitable suspension system such as lillustrated for example in FIG. 9.Splined to the end of the shaft 200 is sun gear 210` which meshes withone or more planet gears 212. The planet gears are journaled forrotation in a planet gear cage 214 secured, as shown for example, to thehub housing 216 of the wheel 248. Those skilled in the mechanical artswill readily understand that this arrangement provides a conventionalplanetary type of drive for the wheel. The same construction is providedfor the differential gear assembly 206 for the other wheel 24S.

From the above description it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that the subject matter of this invention is capable of modificationin many forms, some of which have been suggested herein. It ispreferred, therefore, that the scope of protection covered hereby bedetermined by the claims rather than the disclosure which is `given in apurely illustrative sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A transportation vehicle comprising a car body and a truck. adjacenteach end, each truck comprising a rigid frame including a transverseframe rnenber, two pairs of `free-running anged wheels journaled on saidframe, a pair of rubber tired wheels journaled on said iframe betweensaid anged wheel pairs, body supporting turning bearings interposedbetween said lframe member and body, motive means supported on saidtrucks, and power transmission means connecting said motive means tosaid mbber tired Wheels.

2. In the combination of claim 1, sets of spring suspension meansinterposed respectively between said anged Wheels and said truck frameand said tired wheels and said truck `frame, whereby the load isproportionately distributed to all of said wheels.

3. In the combination of claim 1, suspension springs interposed betweensaid flan-ged wheels and said truck .frame and said tired wheels andsaid truck iframe, whereby the load is proportionately distributed toall of said wheels, and means on said truck frame `for limiting thedownward movement of the rubber tired wheel springs when the full loadis distributed to said anged wheel springs.

4. In the combination of claim 11, said motive means including a drivemotor, a parallel gear transmission connected to said rubber tiredwheels, and a universal jointed drive shaft interconnecting the motorwith said transmission.

5. In the combination of claim l, said rubber tired wheels havingpneumatic tires, and means on the truck frame for limiting the movementof said truck with respect to said rubber tired wheels in the event theyare deflated or hang free.

6. In the combination of claim l, said iianged wheels being mounted onsingle axles respectively and said rubber tired Wheels being mounted ona single axle, suspension springs interposed between all of said axlesand said truck Aframes whereby the loading on the truck isproportionately distributed between said axles.

7. In the combination of claim 1, said ianged wheels being mounted onsingle axles respectively and said rubber tired Vwheels being mounted ona single axle, suspension springs interposed between all of said axlesand said truck `frames whereby the loading on the truck isproportionately distributed `between said axles, and means :for limitingthe downward movement of the axle `for the rubber tired wheels when theloading thereon is removed.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,489,998 Galbraith A-pr. 8, 1934 2,230,090y Rabey Jan. 28, `19412,482,564 Townsend Sept. 20, 1949 2,577,830 Watts et al Dec. 1l, 19512,986,102 Cox May 30, 19611

1. A TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE COMPRISING A CAR BODY AND A TRUCK ADJACENTEACH END, EACH TRUCK COMPRISING A RIGID FRAME INCLUDING A TRANSVERSEFRAME MEMBER, TWO PAIRS OF FREE-RUNNING FLANGED WHEELS JOURNALED ON SAIDFRAME, A PAIR OF RUBBER TIRED WHEELS JOURNALED ON SAID FRAME BETWEENSAID FLANGED WHEEL PAIRS, BODY SUPPORTING TURNING BEARINGS INTERPOSEDBETWEEN SAID FRAME MEMBER AND BODY, MOTIVE MEANS SUPPORTED ON SAIDTRUCKS, AND POWER TRANSMISSION MEANS CONNECTING SAID MOTIVE MEANS TOSAID RUBBER TIRED WHEELS.